All the courses involve introducing each index with a brief lecture style overview followed by “hands on” close support instruction in groups of 10. The morning session is devoted to instructing the trainee in how to use the index appropriately and consistently. In the afternoon the trainee will be tested in how reliable he/she is using a sample of thirty dental casts. The scores obtained will be compared to a “Gold standard” and the trainees will be informed of the outcome of the calibration exercise before they leave.

The trainee will gain experience using each index on 20-40 different dental casts. The trainee will be instructed to use each index by 3-4 trainers. Each trainer has a different teaching approach, style and personality and this is helpful for the trainee as the trainer will approach instruction from different perspectives. Inevitably trainees will prefer different approaches to teaching and it is the trainers aim to be comprehensive. The time allocation for tasks is flexible and depends on the level of training required for each different group of trainees.

The trainees will undergo a steep learning curve and their competence in employing the index will significantly improve throughout the morning. This can be disconcerting as the trainees often feel that they have to change their scoring pattern from what they perceived at the beginning of the morning. This is a normal feeling as a result of learning new techniques, following conventions and systematic approaches to record each index. This learning curve will result in the necessary level of competency that will be required to be calibrated in the use of each index.

As the period of training although intense is relatively short each trainee must make sure that they understand each facet of each index. If the trainee is unsure about anything they should ask the trainer for clarification.

It is important that the trainee gains experience in scoring a wide variety of malocclusions especially, edge-to-edge incisor relationships, reverse overjets, missing teeth, impacted teeth and exposed teeth. If the trainee has not had experience of measuring these types of malocclusions they should let the trainer know.

If the trainee is unhappy with anything please inform the trainer or course organiser as soon as possible.

The success rate in calibration of each index varies with each group of trainees. However, there is usually a 80 percent success rate for each index.

Attendees for the courses should be aware that they are quite intensive and the calibration exercise (particularly for the PAR index) will take 3 hours and attendees should allow for this in their travel arrangements.

The Occlusal Index Course has been running for 30 years. We constantly strive to improve the course and the course organisers will welcome any feedback. Therefore we will appreciate if you could spend some time on completing the “Course Evaluation” questionnaires at the end of the training day.